Breath of Life (6 page)

“How is he?” Jenny asked as she opened the door for Paxton.

“He’ll live.”

“You can take your things in your old room. Why don’t you go down and settle in. I will make some tea. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, anything is fine. Let me know when it’s done?” Paxton’s voice was cold. She just wanted to get away from her mother at the moment.

“I will.” Jenny kissed Paxton on her forehead but to Paxton it felt like it was forced, like she really didn’t care if Paxton was there or not.

Paxton headed down to her room. Memories came flooding back to her. It was exactly as she left it before she moved out. She ran her fingers along her dresser, feeling the frames of the pictures she left there. She stared at them. They were pictures of her and her father before he passed, her and Ella, and pictures of her best friends from high school. She then moved to her bed, running her hand along the comforter as she walked beside it. It was as smooth and soft as she remembered it to be. She then decided to see if anything else changed in the basement.

She walked over to the spare bedroom down there. Her mother redecorated this room. There was a new bedroom suit in it. It looked like a room cut out of a magazine. Everything was coordinated and looked amazing. She then moved on to Ella’s room.  She paused at the door and held her breath for a moment. She wondered if her mother moved on and redecorated Ella’s room. She hoped her mother was holding on to the memory of Ella like she did with Paxton’s room.

She cracked open the door and let out the breath she was holding. She swung the door open further and she saw that nothing had changed in here either. It was the way Ella had it decorated when she lived here before she moved out to live with Duke. She felt the tears coming again. She chastised herself when the tears fell. She felt like all she did lately was cry.

The memories she thought she could hide from resurfaced as she stepped into the room. She kept asking herself what she did that was so wrong, that her world was shattered and torn away from her and she was standing here in her best friend’s room all alone.  She wished Ella was there at that moment. Ella always had the answers. She thought about Duke and couldn’t hold back anything.  She made a mess of everything. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She dialed a number she had no right dialing.

“Hello?” came a quiet voice at the other end of the line.

Paxton couldn’t respond to it.

“Is it really you?” the deep voice said again. This time a little louder. Paxton let out a small sniffle.

“Paxton?” A sigh of frustration.

“I’m home,” Paxton finally brought herself to say. She waited for a response.

“On my way.” The line went dead.

Duke was not sure what to think of the call. He stared at his phone for a moment. Paxton’s picture still on the screen. He hadn’t heard from Paxton since the day Jenny drove her to the institution. It was the last time he spoke to Jenny. He remembered arguing with her as Paxton sat in the back of her car just staring at them. He said that Jenny was not helping her daughter by locking her up, but Jenny refused to hear what he had to say. She was giving up on Paxton. He tucked the phone into his pocket and grabbed his jacket.

Duke arrived at the cabin where Jack and Paxton used to live. It looked abandoned. He went up to the door and noticed through the window everything was still covered up. No sign of life inside. He tried the knob but it wouldn’t budge. He looked closer inside and nothing was disturbed. That meant she was probably over at her mother’s house, which means Paxton maybe be in a far worse state than he thought. Her mother may be giving her a hard time about Ella, about his relationship with Ella and how Paxton played a role on why they were not together anymore. He gritted his teeth at the thought of seeing Jenny again.

He pulled up outside of Jenny Andrews’s house within twenty minutes. He shut the car off and prepared himself to go knock on the door. He didn’t know how Jenny would react to him being there. His ex-mother-in-law was probably not too fond of him. He didn’t want to deal with her so maybe he could sneak in without being noticed but that may not be the best idea. He pulled the key from the ignition and headed toward the house. He needed to get in there before Jenny shredded Paxton to pieces.

He knocked and waited, bracing himself for whatever was about to happen. He turned looking at the street. He briefly wondered why he even came here. He should have just called her back to see if she wanted to meet somewhere.

“What are you doing here?” He heard a menacing tone in Jenny’s voice. He turned to look at her.

“I heard Paxton was home. I wanted to see her.”

“No. It’s not a good time. She just got back and she is sleeping right now,” Jenny said trying to close the door. Duke caught it with his hand.

“With all due respect, she called me. So I know that’s a bunch of bullshit Mrs. Andrews.”

Duke saw the look of surprise on her face. He pushed through the door and headed down to the basement where Paxton’s room was.

He walked in there but couldn’t find her. He checked the bathroom down the hall then noticed a light on in Ella’s room.  His chest tightened.
Why was she in there?
He then thought of all the times that he went through that door to see Ella. For a split second, he wished it was Ella sitting in that room waiting on him and not Paxton. He banished the thought as he slowly approached the room.

He pushed open the door slowly and memories came flooding back. It was exactly the same as Ella left it. He felt his chest constrict again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them and saw Paxton curled up on her side on the bed. He walked over to her and sat down. He reached and stroked her hair that was splayed out behind her. She was facing away from the door so he couldn’t see her face. He then laid himself beside her. His heart was aching for her. He didn’t know what to say.

“You’re here,” Paxton quietly said.

“No place else I need to be right now.” He stroked her hair knowing that calmed her.

“I didn’t know who to call,” she admitted after a few moments of silence.

“You can always call me. Regardless of our history, I will always come,” he reassured her.

They both fell silent as they laid there. He looked around the room and let the memories of Ella race towards him. He remembered her laugh and the teasing. He remembered the long nights they spent talking and their wedding day. He remembered Ella wanting to have his kids, she would do anything from him, yet here he was comforting her best friend. Ella was nowhere in his life. He never blamed Paxton for what happened, although everyone else seemed to.

“It should be her that you are with right now,” she said quietly.

He stilled and looked down at her. It was as if she knew he was reminiscing about Ella. “No. Stop that. It’s not your fault. It was no one’s fault. It just happened.”

“I spoiled your relationship with Jack. That was because of me too.”

Duke turned her so she would face him. He grasped her chin so she couldn’t look away. “Jack and I’s falling out was long coming. Don’t you blame yourself.”

He stared at her for a few moments longer hoping it would sink in. He let her chin go and then stood up. He bent down and scooped her up into his arms. Paxton let him. She leaned into his chest.

“You don’t need to be in here. Come, let’s go see if dinner is ready.” Duke had smelled the cooking when he walked in earlier. He knew it was about dinner time for them. Jenny always ate at the same time every night. With as good as everything was smelling, he figured Jenny had to be close to being done cooking.

SIX

The sunset dimmed everything in the room, putting a slight glare on the side of the TV. Jack looked down at Paxton. She fell asleep watching movies with him. She had a long day at work and when she came home he could tell that she just wanted to sleep. Of course Paxton, being Paxton, refused because they were supposed to have a movie day. They planned it but a major accident at a construction site threw her into an unexpected surgery. He ran his fingers through her hair. She always enjoyed that and made her relax. He could stare at her all day. He noticed she looked peaceful. He turned the movie off. He sighed knowing that he didn’t want to wake her up but he needed to prepare some things for work.  He very gently got up trying to not wake her. Once he was upright, he scooped her up into his arms. 

He headed up the stairs to their bedroom. He laid her down and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

“I fell asleep didn’t I?” she said groggily. She stretched as if trying to wake back up.

“It’s okay Tiger. Get some sleep. I need to do a few things anyways.” He winked at her. He kissed her forehead and headed back downstairs into the main floor of the cabin.

Jack noticed it getting chilly in the cabin. He decided that now was as good as any to turn in. He looked at the clock and noticed it had been a couple hours since he left Paxton upstairs. He turned off the light and headed back up there. He felt the air get colder. His instincts went on high alert. Something wasn’t right. 

As he entered the room, he noticed the bed was empty. The balcony door was ajar. He peeked out but didn’t see her there.

“Paxton?” He called turning back towards the bedroom. He headed towards the bathroom, no light on.

“Paxton?!” he called louder.

He felt panic rise in his chest. Now he knew something was wrong. Did he miss her downstairs somewhere? He raced down.

“Tiger where are you?!”

No sight of her, no sounds throughout the cabin. Then he heard a cold shrill.

“JACK!” It was Paxton.

He jerked awake. He felt a sheet of sweat on his forehead. He looked around to orient himself. He was still in the hospital. His breathing was heavy but he tried to slow it.  An alarm on one of the systems he was hooked to was going off. A nurse rushed in.

“Jack, are you okay?” It was Susie, one of Paxton’s favorite people in the hospital.

“I,” he looked around. “I think so.”

“Are you in pain? Your heart rate and blood pressure are up.” She checked his IV fluids and then his chart.

“No.” He realized it was only a dream. “I’m fine.”

“How’s your pain level?”

“I’m fine, I don’t need anything.” He was agitated.

He saw Susie’s skeptical look and he looked away hoping she would leave him alone. “Jack, if you need something tell me. Paxton will not like it if you are in pain. She was here earlier.”

Jack jerked his head up and looked at her. He didn’t know Paxton was even here. “Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. She was sleeping in the chair when I left to make rounds.”

Jack looked over to the chair and saw the blanket thrown on it. It was definitely not there before. She came. He was in disbelief, especially after what happened in Dr. Keeler’s office. He was even surprised she stepped foot in this hospital.

“I’m fine. Really Susie.” He gave her a small smile. It was enough for her to look at him, nod her head and leave after a few moments.

He only had a few minutes alone and his mind was still reeling over the fact that Paxton came to the hospital to see him. Then the surgeon came in the room.

“Hey there,” he said announcing himself.

“Hello.”

“Well, your surgery went great. You are going to be wheelchair bound for a couple weeks until your leg sets. Then crutches, physical therapy, and so on but I think your leg will be back to 100% if you work hard at it.”

Jack did not like hearing that news. He would have to have his parents come help him, or maybe Paxton would be willing to do it, but he knew it was a long shot there.

“I also stopped your internal bleeding. You had a lacerated spleen. We just want the stitches to heal up nice now. You should have a light scar, nothing major.” He smiled, proud of the job he did.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Please let the nurses know if you need any pain medication. I say if all goes well you will be heading home in a couple of days.” He left after giving Jack another smile.

He sighed as the doctor left. He would need to start figuring out plans for when he gets out. He picked up the phone beside his bed. He stared at the numbers but finally dialed his parents to let them know what happened.

He hadn’t talked to them in a couple of months after they ridiculed him for even entertaining the idea of trying to get Paxton back.  His parents were upset he didn’t call earlier but said that they could set him up with a 24-hour nurse until he can make it on his own. He tried to refuse but his mother wouldn’t back down. He reluctantly gave in.  

He set the phone back down. He wondered if Paxton was coming back. No one seemed to know where she went. He looked back at the phone contemplating whether he should try to call her or not. He reached for the phone.

“Jack Mercier?” a voice came from the door.

“Yes?” He looked over and saw there was a deliveryman standing in the doorway.

“Package for you,” he said striding over. “Need your signature here.”

He handed Jack his handheld device. Jack signed quickly and grabbed the box from him.

“Thanks.”

“Feel better sir.” He turned and walked out.

Jack looked at the package, unsure of who sent it. There was no return address on it.  He stared at it resting on his lap for a few moments. Jack wasn’t sure what it could be. He decided to open it. Within it was two items. A small box and an envelope sealed up. 

He grabbed the small box and shook it next to his ear.  No movement inside. He tore open the box to find a small jewelry box. He was confused by it. He opened it up and inside were rings he knew very well. He took a sharp breath in as he recognizing the ring set he held in his hands. He designed the set to give to Paxton on their wedding day. She couldn’t wear them to work because she was in and out of surgery but every time she did wear them, she couldn’t stop staring at them. He felt his chest tighten slightly. He felt his pain level rise, both physically and emotionally.

He then stared at the envelope. He tore it open. He found a filed copy of divorce papers, signed by both parties. She finally signed when he was ready to forget them and try to salvage what was left of their relationship. He felt his chest rip open from the pain of seeing the signed divorce papers. He let the papers drop into his lap.  He pressed the button for the nurse.